15/01/2009

Goodbye, Lieutenant Morales

Ricardo Montalbàn died on Wednesday, he was 88. Though better-known for his musicals and his TV work, most particularly the long-running Fantasy Island, Montalbàn also deserves to be remembered for his decisive contribution to the "ethnic detective" as a credible rather than just picturesque figure in the seminal films noirs Border Incidentand Mystery Street, respectively helmed by Anthony Mann and John Sturges. He was also memorable in a darker register as a corrupt cop in Burt Kennedy's The Money Trap. This is well-worth a tribute on this blog.